Edging Forward Exhibit

September 27, 2017

EDGING FORWARD: RECONNECTION, RECONCILIATION, REGENERATION
Ann Dale & Nancyanne Cowell
October 10th – November 10th, 2017

Robert Bateman Centre
Victoria, BC

CURATORIAL STATEMENT

We have enough knowledge, science, and innovation to act now on sustainable community development, so what is holding us back? Why can’t we leap back from the edge onto new sustainable pathways?

After realizing that something was missing in conversations on sustainable community development, Ann Dale and Nancyanne Cowell came together to explore some of the missing threads: love, compassion, and the power of storytelling. Art and science are traditionally separate disciplines, with the former focused on expression and creativity and the latter centered on the pursuit of data and discovery. However, given the unprecedented nature and scale of issues our world is facing, they decided that bridging the two disciplines would tell a more compelling story. Edging Forward: Reconnection, Reconciliation, Regeneration is an art and literary project that illuminates the power of collaboration. As the social scientist and artist explore what is holding us back, they bring new perspectives to the conversation about how to leap towards a more sustainable world.

Dale’s latest manuscript, Edging Forward: Achieving Sustainable Community Development, weaves together over 15 years of research on sustainable communities into a compelling story about how we can no longer merely edge forward, rather we must leap forward. She frames her research and discovery through a literary journey that also shares deeply personal and poetic life experiences. Throughout each chapter, she explores our relationships to one another, to other species, and to our planet. She contemplates how a single story of growth has come to dominate our narratives and why we struggle to embrace diversity and difference. By blending storytelling with science, Dale uncovers how the power of our narratives can not only lead us towards positive social change but also a more resilient and empathetic world.

Responding to the core ideas in Dale’s manuscript, Nancyanne Cowell created large-scale oil mixed-media paintings to illuminate each chapter theme. Her luminous works channel the dramatic and often turbulent landscapes of English Romantic painter, Joseph Turner. Chromatic strokes of blues, greens, and magentas alternate from thick to thin swirling horizontally and vertically across the foreground. Teeming with light and motion, Cowell’s powerful yet sensuous paintings also echo the style and techniques pioneered by the Impressionists, including Claude Monet. Her gestural brushwork not only builds structure and texture across large surface areas but also manifests her inner voice and emotions. Notably, her unique approach to composition channels the vitality of nature, thereby offering new perspectives.

Made up of two unified canvases, each painting flips the traditional landscape on its end and adopts the orientation of a portrait, eliciting a visceral connection with the human body. The merging of two canvases, magnified by sweeping brushstrokes, depicts the earth’s crust. Architecturally, this feature also signifies the interconnection between our built and natural environments. Subtle details of nature are framed by rustling wind and crashing waves, blending the abstract with the figurative. If you look closely, you may spot a rabbit hole running through the core of the canvas or a dragon-shaped cloud floating through the carbon filled atmosphere. These delightful details stir our hearts and minds, reminding us of our connection to the natural world and the need for respectful coexistence.

Our world is in desperate need of care and compassion. We can no longer afford to simply edge forward. We must leap towards new sustainable pathways by embracing the transformative changes needed to reconnect, reconcile, and regenerate our world.

– Jaime Clifton-Ross, B.A. (Hons.), MMSt, Guest Curator

About the Artist

January 30, 2015

NANCYANNE COWELL

Nancyanne Cowell, BFA (Hon) (Distinct), MBA, LFC is a Canadian artist, born in Ottawa, Ontario, and lives on Vancouver Island. From an early age, Cowell began painting our relationship with nature in the Canadian landscape.  Embracing sensual, spilling light, her Abstract-Impressionist paintings straddle the built and natural worlds we live in. With sweeping gestures and energetic passages, Cowell’s powerful and luminous paintings emphasize how our existence is inherently linked to nature. Her work ultimately illuminates the beauty of this relationship.

She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honours and was granted the Award of Distinction for painting, from the University of Victoria.  Cowell is recognized as an elected member of the Federation of Canadian Artists.  She also earned a Master’s Degree in Business Administration, with studies in Environmental Philosophy, which deepened Cowell’s understanding of civilization and art making. A series of her paintings have been published, exploring how love, science, and compassion can build a more sustainable world.  In addition, the series was granted cultural interpretation through the Robert Bateman Centre. Other artwork is held in private and corporate collections.

ARTIST’S INSPIRATION

“By responding to chapter themes, legends, and fairytales, I draw on relationships and interconnections between our built environment and the natural world.  Water —as a symbol of renewal, cleansing, and emotional energy; flows throughout the painting series. It is the source of all life, representing both life and death existing in the same place. Making up most of the Earth and most of our bodies, water is a conduit between and amongst all species, communities and the biosphere.  Painting beyond the conventional boundaries of the traditional ‘landscape’, my brushes found moments of emotion and wonder expressing these mysteries.  These paintings are an offering that we may find possibility — towards a fresh understanding of being. With our planet deeply seeking care, perhaps this exhibition will stir both our hearts and minds to find meaning and strengthen our connection with the world around us.”

  – Nancyanne Cowell, Edging Forward Art Collection

Carbon Thoughts

January 27, 2015

Plate 1, Carbon Thoughts, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil mixed-media on two canvases, 48” X 36”, 2016

Quill of Hope

January 27, 2015

Plate 2, Quill Of Hope, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil-mixed media on two canvases, 36” X 36”, 2015

Shades of Wonderland

January 27, 2015

Plate 3, Shades Of Wonderland, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil-mixed media on two canvases, 60” X 36”, 2014

Same Souls

January 27, 2015

Plate 4, Same Souls, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil-mixed media on two canvases, 36” X 36”, 2015

Fusing Love

January 16, 2015

Plate 5, Fusing Love, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil on two canvases, 60” X 36”, 2015

A Heart’s Knowledge

January 15, 2015

Plate 6, A Heart’s Knowledge, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil-mixed media on two canvases, 60” X 36”, 2015

Ecoscape of the Soul

January 11, 2015

Plate 7, Ecoscape Of The Soul, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil on two canvases, 60” X 36”, 2013

Their Percussive Heartbeats

January 10, 2015

Plate 8, Their Percussive Heartbeats, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil on two canvases, 60” X 36”, 2014

Between Tomorrow

January 8, 2015

Plate 9, Between Tomorrow, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil-mixed media on two canvases, 60” X 36”, 2015

Unforgotten Times

January 7, 2015

Plate 10, Unforgotten Times, by Nancyanne Cowell, oil-mixed media on canvas, 60” X 36”, 2008